Resurfacing roadwork created the need for the lane closures in the Portal Way area which then led to two days of extraordinary traffic jams on I-5 northbound between Bellingham and Ferndale as well as on many side streets during the evening commute.
“Will this happen again tonight?” is the question on the top of the minds of most drivers who were caught up in the traffic mess the past two days.
According to the project manager, work is not expected to restart until Sunday evening and should only require closing one lane during their scheduled work hours of 7pm to 11am.
The milling of the Portal Way interchange overpass roadway exposed several raised surfaces which, when open to traffic, required reduced speed for safety and to avoid vehicle damage. Attempts at increased signage were not creating the desired effect of reduced speed so it was eventually decided to close a lane through the area. This resulted in the first day’s traffic jam.
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Overnight resurfacing covered the raised surfaces but only in one lane and that lane was eventually opened to traffic while work crews could resurface the second lane yesterday. According to the project manager, crews began work sooner than scheduled in order to beat the rain in the forecast.
This morning, both lanes through the area were open to traffic with no speed reduction. Barring any other obstacles, this evening’s commute should be a lot better than the last two.